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Professional training course · AF-016

Developing, Improving & Monitoring the Internal Audit Function

An effective internal audit function provides independent, risk-based assurance that helps organizations strengthen governance, manage risks, and improve internal…

  • 5 daysClassroom
  • 13Upcoming dates
  • 8Cities
  • £2,250Fees from
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Developing, Improving & Monitoring the Internal Audit Function
Next classroom session Rome 14 - 18 Dec 2026 · £4,250 Next in London London 15 - 19 Feb 2027 · £4,200

Course overview

Why Attend

An effective internal audit function provides independent, risk-based assurance that helps organizations strengthen governance, manage risks, and improve internal controls. Achieving this requires more than completing audit engagements. Internal audit leaders must establish a clear mandate, align audit priorities with organizational risks, develop capable audit teams, maintain consistent methodologies, and demonstrate the value of their work to senior management and the board.

The Developing, Improving & Monitoring the Internal Audit Function course provides a structured approach to establishing, managing, evaluating, and continuously improving internal audit activities. Participants examine the Global Internal Audit Standards issued by The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA), risk-based audit planning, audit methodology development, resource management, performance measurement, quality assurance, stakeholder engagement, and the effective use of audit technology.

The programme emphasizes practical approaches to building a credible internal audit function, improving audit quality, monitoring operational effectiveness, and delivering assurance that supports organizational objectives.

Professional Problems This Course Is Designed to Solve

  • Unclear internal audit mandate and responsibilities: Establishing appropriate authority, independence, accountability, reporting relationships, and governance arrangements for the internal audit function.

  • Audit plans disconnected from organizational risks: Developing risk-based audit plans that reflect strategic priorities, emerging threats, control weaknesses, and stakeholder expectations.

  • Inconsistent audit execution and reporting: Standardizing audit methodologies, documentation, supervision, evidence evaluation, reporting, and follow-up procedures.

  • Limited audit resources and specialist capabilities: Improving workforce planning, competency development, technology utilization, and the allocation of audit resources.

  • Difficulty measuring internal audit effectiveness: Establishing meaningful performance indicators for audit quality, coverage, efficiency, stakeholder satisfaction, and recommendation implementation.

  • Weak quality assurance and improvement processes: Implementing a Quality Assurance and Improvement Program (QAIP) that supports ongoing monitoring, periodic self-assessment, and external quality assessment.

  • Insufficient stakeholder confidence in internal audit: Strengthening communication with the board, audit committee, senior management, and other assurance providers while preserving independence and objectivity.

Course Methodology

The programme combines instructor-led discussions, internal audit maturity assessments, governance case studies, risk-based planning exercises, audit methodology workshops, performance measurement activities, and quality assessment simulations. Participants work with practical templates for internal audit charters, strategic plans, audit manuals, competency frameworks, performance dashboards, and quality improvement plans.

Exercises are designed around the responsibilities of chief audit executives, internal audit managers, and professionals involved in developing or improving internal audit functions.

Course Objectives

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

  • Evaluate the effectiveness and maturity of an internal audit function

  • Understand the requirements of the IIA Global Internal Audit Standards

  • Develop an internal audit mandate, charter, strategy, and governance framework

  • Establish risk-based audit planning and engagement management processes

  • Design consistent audit methodologies, procedures, and documentation requirements

  • Improve internal audit resource planning and professional competency development

  • Strengthen audit supervision, reporting, and recommendation follow-up

  • Develop meaningful internal audit performance indicators and management dashboards

  • Establish and maintain an effective Quality Assurance and Improvement Program

  • Conduct internal quality assessments and prepare for external quality assessments

  • Improve stakeholder communication and demonstrate the value of internal audit

  • Develop an actionable internal audit function improvement roadmap

Target Audience

This course is suitable for:

  • Chief audit executives and heads of internal audit

  • Internal audit directors and managers

  • Senior internal auditors and audit supervisors

  • Audit committee support professionals

  • Governance, risk, and compliance managers

  • Internal control and assurance professionals

  • Quality assurance professionals within internal audit

  • Public sector audit leaders

  • Professionals responsible for establishing or restructuring internal audit departments

  • Internal auditors preparing for leadership responsibilities

Target Competencies

Participants will develop competencies in:

  • Internal audit function management

  • Internal audit strategy development

  • Audit governance and independence

  • Risk-based audit planning

  • Audit methodology and quality control

  • Internal audit resource management

  • Audit performance measurement

  • Quality assurance and improvement

  • Stakeholder relationship management

  • Internal audit continuous improvement

Course outline

  1. 1Day 1: Establishing an Effective Internal Audit Function and Governance Framework

    • Understanding the purpose, mandate, and organizational responsibilities of the internal audit function under the IIA Global Internal Audit Standards

    • Evaluating organizational governance arrangements, board oversight, functional reporting, and internal audit independence

    • Developing and maintaining an internal audit charter that defines authority, responsibilities, scope, and access rights

    • Assessing the current maturity of the internal audit function using organizational needs, stakeholder expectations, and capability criteria

    • Establishing an internal audit strategy aligned with organizational objectives, governance requirements, and assurance priorities

    • Practical workshop: Assessing internal audit maturity and developing an internal audit governance and strategic development framework

  2. 2Day 2: Risk-Based Audit Planning and Internal Audit Methodology Development

    • Establishing an audit universe covering organizational processes, business units, systems, projects, and significant risk exposures

    • Developing risk assessment criteria based on impact, likelihood, control effectiveness, strategic significance, and emerging risks

    • Preparing risk-based internal audit plans and adjusting audit priorities to reflect changes in the organization's risk profile

    • Designing consistent audit methodologies covering engagement planning, risk and control assessment, testing, evidence collection, and documentation

    • Establishing audit supervision, working-paper review, quality control, and engagement approval procedures

    • Practical exercise: Developing a risk-based annual internal audit plan and standardized engagement methodology for a complex organization

  3. 3Day 3: Managing Internal Audit Resources, Operations and Stakeholder Relationships

    • Developing internal audit workforce plans based on audit coverage requirements, available resources, specialist expertise, and organizational complexity

    • Establishing competency frameworks, professional development plans, performance expectations, and succession arrangements for audit personnel

    • Improving audit scheduling, engagement allocation, time budgeting, supervision, and workload management

    • Evaluating opportunities to use audit management software, data analytics, continuous auditing, and automation to improve audit efficiency

    • Strengthening coordination with risk management, compliance, external audit, and other assurance providers without compromising internal audit independence

    • Case study: Restructuring an internal audit department to improve resource utilization, specialist capability, stakeholder communication, and audit delivery

  4. 4Day 4: Monitoring Internal Audit Performance and Demonstrating Value

    • Developing internal audit performance indicators covering plan delivery, risk coverage, engagement timeliness, resource utilization, and audit quality

    • Measuring the implementation of audit recommendations, overdue corrective actions, recurring findings, and management accountability

    • Evaluating audit reporting effectiveness through clarity of findings, root-cause analysis, practical recommendations, and stakeholder feedback

    • Designing internal audit dashboards and management reports for the chief audit executive, senior management, and audit committee

    • Assessing stakeholder satisfaction and the contribution of internal audit to governance, risk management, and control improvement

    • Practical workshop: Developing an Internal Audit Performance Scorecard with measurable KPIs, reporting arrangements, and improvement priorities

  5. 5Day 5: Quality Assurance, Internal Audit Evaluation and Continuous Improvement

    • Establishing a Quality Assurance and Improvement Program aligned with the IIA Global Internal Audit Standards

    • Designing ongoing monitoring activities, engagement quality reviews, periodic self-assessments, and documented improvement procedures

    • Understanding external quality assessment requirements, including assessment frequency, assessor independence, and reporting responsibilities

    • Identifying gaps in internal audit practices through quality assessments, stakeholder feedback, performance results, and standards-based reviews

    • Developing corrective action plans, monitoring improvement initiatives, and reporting quality assessment results to the board and senior management

    • Capstone exercise: Developing and presenting an Internal Audit Function Development and Improvement Roadmap covering governance, strategy, audit methodology, resources, performance measurement, quality assurance, and implementation milestones

Schedule

Dates and fees

13 upcoming dates in 8 cities. Fees are per delegate; bring colleagues and every seat is discounted.

All dates as PDF
December 2026
14DEC 14 - 18 Dec 2026Mon to Fri · 5 daysNext session
Italy flag RomeItaly · Classroom
£4,250per delegate2+ people: £3,400 each
Register
January 2027
18JAN 18 - 22 Jan 2027Mon to Fri · 5 days
Spain flag BarcelonaSpain · Classroom
£3,850per delegate2+ people: £3,080 each
Register
February 2027
15FEB 15 - 19 Feb 2027Mon to Fri · 5 daysOur home city
United Kingdom flag LondonUnited Kingdom · Classroom
£4,200per delegate2+ people: £3,360 each
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March 2027
15MAR 15 - 19 Mar 2027Mon to Fri · 5 days
Switzerland flag GenevaSwitzerland · Classroom
£5,250per delegate2+ people: £4,200 each
Register
April 2027
19APR 19 - 23 Apr 2027Mon to Fri · 5 days
France flag ParisFrance · Classroom
£4,500per delegate2+ people: £3,600 each
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May 2027
17MAY 17 - 21 May 2027Mon to Fri · 5 days
Italy flag RomeItaly · Classroom
£4,250per delegate2+ people: £3,400 each
Register
June 2027
21JUN 21 - 25 Jun 2027Mon to Fri · 5 days
Malaysia flag Kuala LumpurMalaysia · Classroom
£2,250per delegate2+ people: £1,800 each
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July 2027
19JUL 19 - 23 Jul 2027Mon to Fri · 5 days
Italy flag RomeItaly · Classroom
£4,250per delegate2+ people: £3,400 each
Register
August 2027
16AUG 16 - 20 Aug 2027Mon to Fri · 5 days
Austria flag ViennaAustria · Classroom
£4,250per delegate2+ people: £3,400 each
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September 2027
20SEP 20 - 24 Sep 2027Mon to Fri · 5 days
Spain flag BarcelonaSpain · Classroom
£3,850per delegate2+ people: £3,080 each
Register
October 2027
18OCT 18 - 22 Oct 2027Mon to Fri · 5 days
France flag ParisFrance · Classroom
£4,500per delegate2+ people: £3,600 each
Register
November 2027
15NOV 15 - 19 Nov 2027Mon to Fri · 5 days
Germany flag FrankfurtGermany · Classroom
£3,250per delegate2+ people: £2,600 each
Register
December 2027
20DEC 20 - 24 Dec 2027Mon to Fri · 5 days
Switzerland flag GenevaSwitzerland · Classroom
£5,250per delegate2+ people: £4,200 each
Register

Questions

Frequently asked questions

How long is the Developing, Improving & Monitoring the Internal Audit Function course?

The course runs over 5 days of classroom training, usually Monday to Friday.

When is the next Developing, Improving & Monitoring the Internal Audit Function course?

The next public date is 14 - 18 Dec 2026 in Rome. There are 13 upcoming dates in total.

Where is this course held?

Upcoming sessions run in Rome, Barcelona, London, Geneva, Paris, Kuala Lumpur, Vienna, Frankfurt.

How much does the course cost?

Fees start from £2,250 per delegate, depending on the city. Fees include tuition and course materials.

Do participants receive a certificate?

Yes. Delegates who complete the course receive a London Leadership Management Innovation certificate of completion.

Can this course be delivered in-house for our team?

Yes. LLMI can tailor and deliver this course privately for your organisation at your premises or in one of our training cities.

Course information last updated 14 November 2026.

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